Journal of dental education
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A traditional summative grading structure, used at Indiana University School of Dentistry (IUSD) for more than 30 years, was identified by faculty as outdated for assessing students' clinical performance. In an effort to change the status quo, a feedback-driven assessment was implemented in 2012 to provide a constructive assessment tool acceptable to both faculty and students. Building on the successful non-graded clinical evaluation employed at Baylor College of Dentistry, IUSD implemented a streamlined electronic formative feedback model (FFM) to assess students' daily clinical performance. ⋯ The two groups of students had different responses to the self-assessment component: 70.2% of the D4 respondents appreciated clinical self-assessment compared to 46% of the D3 respondents. Overall, while some components of the FFM assessment were well received, a phased approach to implementation may have facilitated a transition more acceptable to both faculty and students. Improvements are being made in an attempt to increase overall satisfaction.